Speaker: Todd Helmus and Khrystyna Holynska (RAND)
Date: 19 September 2024
Speaker Session Summary
A key element of Ukrainian resistance to the Russian invasion has been its ability to counter Russian disinformation. In their recent report for RAND, Dr. Helmus and Dr. Holynska discuss Ukraine’s approach to combating disinformation and the lessons that the United States and NATO can draw from this effort. Russia prioritizes narrative-based information warfare alongside its operational goals to destroy Ukrainian military units and undermine critical electrical infrastructure. This information campaign is also directed internally, as Russia has blocked numerous media outlets and criminalized criticism of its war in Ukraine. In Ukraine, Russian disinformation seeks to undermine President Zelensky and incite divisions among Ukrainian communities and ethnic groups using media. Dr. Holynska pointed out that, while much of the world views Ukraine as winning the information war, several key factors of its success are often overlooked. For example, Ukraine had been conducting media literacy training well before the Russian invasion. In 2021, President Zelensky shut down several media channels tied to the Kremlin. The Center for Countering Disinformation in Ukraine has worked closely with media platforms to reach civilians and bolster media literacy to combat Russian disinformation. Other organizations, such as Vox Ukraine, have actively debunked Russian disinformation. Additionally, Ukraine launched the “Come Back Alive” program, which connects captured Russian soldiers with their families to inform Russians about the realities on the front lines. International media has also played a crucial role in exposing the violence and destruction in Ukraine, turning anyone with a laptop or phone into a potential information warrior.
Speaker Session Recording
Briefing Materials
Report: Ukrainian Resistance to Russian Disinformation: Lessons for Future Conflict | RAND
Biographies:
Todd Helmus is a senior behavioral scientist at RAND and a professor of policy analysis at the Pardee RAND Graduate School. A nationally recognized expert on disinformation and violent extremism, Helmus specializes in the use of data and evidence-based strategies to understand and counter disinformation and extremism. He has studied the disinformation threat posed by deepfakes, Russian-led propaganda campaigns targeting the United States and Europe, and the use of social media by violent extremist groups. He has also led research on domestic extremism risks of veteran and active duty military populations.
In addition to his research, Helmus is a frequent speaker at security conferences. He has served as a consultant to the U.S. Departments of Defense, State, and Homeland Security and has served as a deployed analyst to U.S. military commands in Iraq and Afghanistan. His work has been featured in various media outlets including the New York Times, the Financial Times, The Atlantic, Harpers Magazine, Forbes and MSNBC. Helmus holds a Ph.D. in clinical psychology from Wayne State University, Detroit, MI.
Khrystyna Holynska is a Ph.D. student in the Research, Analysis, and Design stream at the Pardee RAND Graduate School and an assistant policy researcher at RAND. Her research interests include foreign, defense, and security policy; Ukraine; Russia; and Eastern Europe.
Holynska has a Ph.D. in political science from Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv and an M.B.A.+M.B.A.I. (business and management in artificial intelligence and data analytics) from the Kyiv School of Economics (KSE). Prior to joining Pardee RAND, she headed the defense and security policy research startup KSE StratBase and was an assistant professor of public policy and governance at KSE. Holynska was also a strategic analyst at The Hague Centre for Strategic Studies, where she focused on Russia’s coercive behavior, nonproliferation, deterrence, the future of NATO, and geodynamics. From October 2022 to February 2023, she was a Research Associate at the Center for Global Security Research (CGSR) of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. In October 2023, she participated in the New Security Leaders Program of the Warsaw Security Forum.
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